Rental buildings owned by Barry Shy, SB Main (seen above) and SB Spring (on the left), is in the process of being converted to condos

A downtown resident sends in a very interesting development happening at two of Barry Shy’s rental properties in the Historic Core: SB Spring and SB Main, two beautiful 12-story historic structures sitting side-by-side along 7th Street. According to a Notice of Public Hearing (announcing a hearing that already happened last month on Sept 26), these two rental buildings are currently in the process of being converted into condominiums through a tentative tract map that will permit the sale of 421 individual live/work condo units as well as 20 commercial condo units on the ground floor. As adaptive-reuse projects, these condos will require zero parking.

Barry Shy is responding to an increased demand from buyers looking to purchase condominiums in Downtown LA. As a result of high buyer demand and low supply inventory, prices downtown have risen over the last year to a point where Shy may feel it’s the right time to begin the process of converting some of his rental properties into condos.

With over 5,000 residential units under construction right now in Downtown LA, according to the most recent DCBID demographic survey, only 68 units will be condos (Barker Block Warehouse No 1), which is only 1% of the overall units under construction! Adding another 421 condo units to the market in the next year or two, while still barely making a dent, will help balance the rental vs condo ratio downtown.

Like him or not, the controversial Barry Shy is one of the most prolific developers in Downtown LA who has pretty much shaped what Spring Street is today (along with fellow colleague developer Izek Shomof). Projects denoted by an “SB” (stands for Shy Barry), such as “SB Manhattan” at 6th/Spring, can be seen all along Spring and other parts of the Historic Core.